


Watching

by Churbooseanon



Series: Bouncer AU [1]
Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-26
Updated: 2014-06-26
Packaged: 2018-02-06 07:09:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1849015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Churbooseanon/pseuds/Churbooseanon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Maine stands outside the door, controls the line, and watches a man in green.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Watching

**Author's Note:**

> I needed to write this as a pure stress reliever.

It starts when a man stumbles out of the club door just behind Maine, sounding like he was gagging. It happens now and then, those patrons who can't hold their liquor and who make the mistake of heading for them. Maine loves the fact that he's allowed to throw any losers who throw up on him into the curb. In truth it's a rare occurence, but it's still cathartic. Better to toss the assholes who thought themselves so important as to be above him while he controls their ability to get in. 

Maine cracks his knuckles as he waits for the guy to get too close, and keeps himself from grabbing at him when he hears a sigh at his side. Immediately Maine turns, glaring, and meets a put upon expression from a small man with dark hair in a loose ponytail and a very tasteful green outfit. At another moment Maine would let him in, but as it is he is annoyed by the asshole daring to jump the line. 

His hand comes down on empty air because the man strides forward toward the not-quite retching asshole. Maine watches as the green man hauls the asshole's arm over his shoulder and immediately guides him toward the street. 

Their eyes meet for half a second, and those brilliant green eyes flash with some combination of annoyance and amusement. He doesn't say anything, and Maine just watches as he walks away. The man hauls the asshole over to the parking lot and Maine lets himself frown before returning his attention to the line.

 

***

 

It doesn't stop at one night. No, the next few months are variations on a theme. Some asshole stumbles out of the club on the edge of retching--Maine hates the guy, doesn't want to let him in, but he's friends with the club owner--and the man in green is there. Each time his outfit is different, but it is always well chosen and it's always green. Maine always watches in silence as he carts his nauseous friend away, grumbling under his breath in annoyance. 

Their eyes meet every time, twice a weekend, for half a second. They are brilliant and green and always seem to meet Maine's when he's watching them go. A quick flash of annoyance and amusement, and Maine finds himself smiling two weeks in, grinning by a month, and chuckling with a shake of his head by three. 

His eyes might get a little too friendly. They might follow the curve of the man's shoulders as he carts his friend off. Maybe they cup that ass once or twice or every night after the two month point. Maybe he smiles a little too broad and wishes that the man would come in so he could see that expression heavy with alcohol that was just close enough to the edge to be something like sex. 

Maine smiles when he returns his attention to the line.

 

***

 

It escalates at five months. Apparently the other man is getting tired of coming when he's beckoned. Apparently he's got his friends figured out. He shows up earlier than Maine expects, shuffles up along the front of the line and smiles. It's the first time the man in green smiles at him. The first time he opens that mouth and hears the voice that is a sweet tenor that goes down smooth like a good whiskey, and leaves a bit of a burn in his stomach and blood.

"Mind if I wait here?" 

Maine shakes his head and just gestures to a part of the wall near the door and watches as the man in green goes to stand at the spot he was directed to. Within ten minutes someone, the same asshole as always, stumbles out. Green is there to intercept and when he goes to leave with his friend, Green meets his eyes and smiles. Turns away and all but drags the man to his car. Maine watches, takes in the sight of him walking away, follows the roll of his hips as he strides with his eyes, and when the man at the front of the line chuckles Maine turns his eyes on him, grunts and declares:

"Back of the line."

 

***

 

Nine months is when Maine is standing at the head of the line, Green standing against the wall, when the question happens. 

"How do you decide?"

Maine lets his gaze trail to Green at the wall. Resists the urge to follow the curve of his jaw, and doesn't bite his lip at the way Green shivers. Wants to wrap his arms around the man, keep him warm with his own body. wants that desperately and turns his attention to the line. 

"You just know."

"Why don't you let more in?"

Geez are they actually having a conversation? 

"You just know."

It's not more complex than that. You spend years doing this, standing in this spot, and you know what to do. You recognize the regulars, like Green's friend. You know by the way people carry themselves just which actually own their expensive clothes and thus can afford to buy a lot of drinks, and which bought the clothes with the intention of returning them in the morning.

The door opens behind them before Green can ask another question, and Maine lets himself turn to look. Sure enough it's Green's friend. Watches as Green hauls the friend up and carries them away. 

"I'll expect a better answer next time."

Maine hates to see him go, but he loves to see him leave.

 

***

 

A year sees them actually talking, every last night Green shows up. No longer is it the brief questions Green stuck with before. Actual conversations while Maine filters people. Asks if it's about the clothes or the posture when Maine turns away one man and not another. 

It's nice to hear his voice. Nice to have him there. Maine's been doing this for years, and yet it feels like he's always had Green there. Green smiling and commenting. Green chuckling lightly as some trio of women complain that Maine has turned them away. Doesn't even move when a man takes a step toward him to start something and Maine bodily tosses the loser away.

But it's getting late now. Later than Maine has ever seen him here. After a while Green had seemed to choose to come earlier to have their little conversations. A year and a month and for the life of him something feels different about tonight. Something feels... important. Like there is a salient detail that Maine has missed and his mind is nagging at him to sift it out. 

"Getting late," he grunts and Green nods quietly. He showed up earlier, and it's pushing close to closing and still the man's friend hasn't stumbled out. 

"Yeah. I guess York's lost track of time," Green sighs, and how is it possible that he's seen Green for a yet and didn't know his friend's name? No, how was it this long and he still didn't know _Green's_ name. 

Except the line is starting to break up. Not quite to the point of dissolving, but people are giving up. It's nearing three am and soon the place will close. 

The salient detail is now there. 

Maine hasn't seen York tonight. Green has been here the whole time and York never was. He's been standing there, at the wall, for over an hour and...

"Maybe he left before I got here," Green sighs and Maine turns to stare at him, hard. This time he doesn't even begin to try and hide the way that his eyes smooth over the other man's body. Makes the look as lecherous and greedy as he can manage. He watches as Green shifts from foot to foot, clearly feeling and seeing that look. He knows exactly what Maine is looking at, what he means with it.

"He never came in," Maine points out, letting his voice get heavy. Jesus, how had he gone this long without realizing this? How had he not seen it? Fuck Maine should have seen this moment coming and he's going to enjoy this.

Green's cheeks are red, a great combination with his coat. 

"Yeah... He's out of town. But my weekend seemed empty without the time I spend here with you."

Shit he's beautiful. Maine wants to cross to him, press him hard against that wall, and kiss him until those lips are bruised and swollen from it. Grab his ass and squeeze it and listen to the sound it drives from him. 

"You like coffee?"

Green smiles softly through the blush and Maine wants him. Wants him bad. 

"Yeah."

"Up the street. I get off in an hour."

Green walks away and there's a spring in his step and Maine desperately wants to put a limp into it instead. 

 

***

 

It ends with them whispering their names to each other between the sheets and kisses.

Or maybe that's when it truly begins.


End file.
